Ride Along (2014)

Ride Along Synopsis

Kevin Hart and Ice Cube lead the lineup in Ride Along, the new film from the director and the producer of the blockbuster comedy Think Like a Man. When a fast-talking guy joins his girlfriend's brother—a hot-tempered cop—to patrol the streets of Atlanta, he gets entangled in the officer's latest case. Now, in order to prove that he deserves his future bride, he must survive the most insane 24 hours of his life.

For the past two years, high-school security guard Ben (Hart) has been trying to show decorated APD detective James (Cube) that he's more than just a video-game junkie who's unworthy of James' sister, Angela (Tika Sumpter). When Ben finally gets accepted into the academy, he thinks he's earned the seasoned policeman's respect and asks for his blessing to marry Angela.

Knowing that a ride along will demonstrate if Ben has what it takes to take care of his sister, James invites him on a shift designed to scare the hell out of the trainee. But when the wild night leads them to the most notorious criminal in the city, James will find that his new partner's rapid-fire mouth is just as dangerous as the bullets speeding at it.

John Leguizamo and Laurence Fishburne join the cast of the action-comedy directed by Tim Story. Ride Along is produced by Will Packer (Think Like a Man), alongside Ice Cube, Matt Alvarez (Barbershop) and Larry Brezner (Good Morning, Vietnam).

Comedian and actor Kevin Hart went from bit player to leading man over the last several months, starring in both Ride Along and About Last Night in a relatively short period of time. It’s the former that has made its way onto Blu-ray and DVD this week, telling a sort-of buddy cop story about a mysterious crime boss and cleaning up the streets of Atlanta.

Box Office Mojo reported a total January domestic take of $894 million, a spectacular haul considering a raft of 2013 leftovers encroaching upon the new release territory. Leading the way was Lone Survivor.

Story is a pro at sequels, having helmed two Fantastic Four movies and now two Think Like a Man films. He doesn’t have anything on his docket after Think Like a Man, Too, due in theaters on June 20. Could he get the Ride Along band back together for a second film shortly after?

Ride Along held on to the number one spot, adding $12 million to is $92 million total. Frozen has been showing a James Cameron-esque ability to hold on to top box office positions, returning back to second place for this, its eleventh weekend in theaters. With this kind of staying power it's poised to break into the $400 million bracket and possibly give Iron Man 3 a run for second highest grossing release of 2013.

The one newcomer this weekend, I, Frankenstein, couldn't generate enough electricity to bring a Frankenstein monster to life, much less draw in audiences. The bizarre action/horror entry crashed in at sixth place with just $8 million against its $65 million production budget.

We break down the significance of the Ride Along weekend take in this morning’s Monday Movie Memo, your first blast of movie news as the week begins. Give us a watch, then go impress your friends with all of your newfound knowledge.

Critics agreed that there wasn't much to laugh at in Kevin Hart and Ice Cube's new comedy Ride Along, but if the past has taught us anything it's that packing 30 second TV spots with images of ex-rappers making angry faces and small children insulting popular stand-up comedians will put butts in the seats almost every time.

You know the stars that land a big role almost immediately after getting to Hollywood? The ones that steadily ride an upward trajectory from bit parts to starring roles in indies to starring roles in studio films to A-list status? Think Tom Cruise. Think Jennifer Lawrence. Absolutely, under no circumstances think Kevin Hart.

Kevin Hart and Ice Cube couldn’t have had more disparate paths leading them to star together in the new comedy Ride Along. One has spent the last few years making a name for himself as an actor and becoming one of the biggest stand-up comedians in the world, while the other came up as a hip-hop artist during the rise of gangster rap and has worked as an actor for nearly twenty five years.

Movie studios are starting to get back into the swing of things after a few slow weeks. That means the winter movies season is kicking into gear. And while these movies don’t look particularly good by any means, at least they don’t involve Hercules. This week we’ve got ride alongs, shadow recruits, the devil and nut jobs.

It is a new year in cinema, at least for everyone who isn’t still coked up from Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street. Unfortunately, January tends to be a dumping ground where studios release all of the films that weren’t good enough to push for Oscar consideration or big enough to release during the summer tentpole season.

Think Like a Man’s Tim Story is inviting America to Ride Along with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube in a fight against crime, one corny joke at a time. I’m looking forward to this movie more than I thought I would before the first trailer came out, and it’s based mostly on the chemistry between the two leads, which covers up any imperfections with energetic line readings.

Ride Along tells the story of an ordinary guy named Ben (Hart) who is dating the love of his life, Angela (Tika Sumpter), and wants to ask for her hand in marriage. Before he can propose, however, he first has to get the approval of James (Ice Cube), a no-nonsense cop working for the Atlanta Police Department who is Angela's brother and doesn't believe that Ben is enough of a man for her.

The trailer has some funny moments and there's some potentially interesting chemistry brewing between Hart and Ice Cube, the whole thing is disappointingly dragged down with generic jokes that we've seen 10,000 times before. How is it that filmmakers still think that the the bait-and-switch practice proposal is still a fresh and funny idea? It doesn't matter if it's a lunch lady, a mirror, or the protagonist's best friend - it's a gag that has been done to death

Bruce McGill is the one of the best kinds of actor - one of those who just randomly shows up in a bit part of the movie or television show you're watching and just completely disappears into his character after a moment of "where do I know that guy from?" And now he's getting set to put those skills to the test once again in Ride Along.

Jay Pharoah comes from the world of Saturday Night Live and Bryan Callen got his big break starring in the early seasons of MadTV, but now they’re getting ready to come together for feature film roles. New reports have revealed that both stars, along with Sparkle actress Tika Sumpter, have signed on for roles in the upcoming comedy Ride Along.

It's been nearly three years since we've heard any updates on the Ice Cube vehicle Ride Along. Back in 2009 Cube signed on to front the buddy comedy, playing an intimidating cop who looks to split up his sister's engagement with a privileged white psychiatrist (read: wimp) by taking him on a world-rattling ride along.